Browns along the Pennsylvania Turnpike last month, on our return trip from Dayton (same trip as the Cloud post ... I was entertaining myself taking pictures out of the window).
Greens in Arches National Park last May, a desert wonderland. I took the pictures because, in each case, different shades of one particular color caught my eye. I'm also trying to pair pictures up, and I'll have a few more sets for you all here shortly :)
Mr. Moose is wishing everyone a very happy holiday season and hopes everyone is safe and sound and having good times with family and friends. And sends a big thank you to all the well-wishers who stopped by, too!
Christmas equals family and tradition in my eyes, so I'm going to share this picture of my grandfather. I'm looking through a door in his house, out across the porch to where he's doing some chores. My grandmother (or maybe even my great-grandmother) hand crocheted the pineapple-pattern lace that covers the glass. 
There's actually six birds in the shot, but a few of them are just blurs. I guess this is feeding activity?
Part of a big flock of starlings, hanging out on high voltage power line supports. It amazes me how birds can line up on these kinds of wires and not get toasted.
I've really enjoyed finding out what others envisioned in the cloud formation I posted - I think I can see most of them, but a few I have to squint real hard with one eye and close the other :P
I snapped this interesting cloud on the drive home from Ohio. Justin thinks it looks like a jellyfish. I think it looks like a crooked finger, like someone is saying "come here." I guess clouds are kind of what you make of them :)
We went to the Dayton Aviation Heritage NHP while we were visiting Justin's parents. I was very impressed with the Visitor's Center located next to the Wright Brothers' Cycle Shop. The exhibits were interactive and really attention-getting. You could push a button to make an engine run, and a life-sized propeller spin. Plus there was a recreation of a corner grocery store, with mannequins that talked to you. The upstairs was done up as rooms of a house, and each room had ornate wallpaper in what I assume are vintage patterns. Even the ceilings were papered. Needless to say, I was fascinated.
I thought a leafy trail in its fall glory would be nice for all those who are travelling somewhere this holiday weekend (although hopefully no one has to go too far by foot!).
Picture taken two weekends ago in Susquehannock State Park, in Lancaster County.
We'll be going to the opposite side of Ohio this coming week, but we'll make it back to Hocking Hills sooner or later. Before I started dating an Ohio boy, I never really pictured scenes like this when I thought of "Ohio." I thought it was all flat as a board.
In fact, I've learned all kinds of interesting stuff about Ohio in the past few years. If you're interested in Native American mound building, use the label "OH" on the right to get to a long-ago post with a picture of the Serpent Mound. It's at the very bottom, after some posts on flowers, barns, and covered bridges.
These mallards stop by our detention basin pretty much every time it rains enough for them to get their feet wet. On this day, they would paddle along, get tired of swimming, put their feet down, and start walking (the water was only a few inches deep). There were actually quite a few of them out there. Once they saw me, they'd start to move in the opposite direction. Twenty-some ducks tramping around and quacking are loud!
From vacation in Las Vegas, Nevada
Now with a name like Cotton in a state like Tennesee, you just have to take advantage. I made a special effort to get a picture of that sign. The second one I took from the car while waiting at a stoplight. Whoever posted these had no problem telling us how they really felt. I wanted to be able to blow the picture up to read the fine print, because the large print seemed bad enough! The sign says, among other things, "'Family friendly' assemblywoman will crush any child in her path"! Wonder how that election turned out ...
My Cousin Chad gave me very good advice on cropping and editing this photo (big thank you!). His latest post tells about his experience with the barn.
Justin occasionally brings them home to me :)
Colorful stuff for sale at the Fulton Fall Folk Festival. Getting a mum (or two, or three) is one of my fall traditions. I first saw the red pumpkin on Friday, when it was dreary and drizzling. I thought it made a nice sort of natural selective color situation. When we came back late on Saturday afternoon, the little red pumpkin was still there, but it was sunny this time. To my surprise, I like the pictures taken on the overcast day better.
It's obviously not a naturally occurring situation, but I am not above staging if I think the result might be interesting :)
This goldfinch is cropped so tightly that the shot is not good for much besides web viewing. But since I can't convince the birds to let me walk up and shake their hands, this is the best I can do :) As it is, I was amazed that this one let me approach so closely. I guess he was really determined to get the seeds from his plant.
As the creek marks the boundary of my grandfather's land, its always been a good destination and sometimes turning point for my rambles. This Sunday, I turned right and headed overland, keeping close to the creek for a while. I found that, although no person regularly walks the grounds, there were plenty of paths worn into the forest floor. Deer make these trails, and I was glad to use them. I find it "endeering" that animals that have the run of many acres still create and stick to pathways, even when the underbrush doesn't limit them in any way. I soon stumbled into an area where four deer were bedded down, and we gave each other mutual heart attacks as they snorted, jumped, and ran for it. 
I saw mockingbirds, robins, a titmouse, a kingfisher, a flicker, bluebirds, a flycatcher of some sort, chipping and white throated sparrows, goldfinches, blue jays, crows, a mourning dove, and cardinals. I heard a nuthatch, but never saw it. The woods and fencerows were crawling with winged critters, another advantage to morning.
The FFFF Parade is a Saturday tradition. When I was in marching band in high school, we dreaded this parade because it seemed like miles and miles of tractors signed up for it and slowed things down. 
It was wonderful how my Uncle, Aunt, and Cousin made the shoot a family affair. My Aunt did not have a camera with her. But several times she pointed out interesting colors or compositions and the camera crew started shooting away. When a daisy wouldn't stop blowing in the wind, my Uncle steadied it so Chad could work his magic. And then, all three were willing to reenact the daisy shoot, to allow me to get some shots.
A church near my apartment has this on its message board: "If you are reluctant to change, think of the beauty of autumn." I believe there is truth and comfort in this statement. When we were in New England, we drove by the church where the famous poet Robert Frost is buried. He lived in New Hampshire and Vermont for many years, and I think his words capture the pairing of autumn and change so gracefully.
We're back from out last road trip, and finally getting caught up with everything. I was excited to see New England in all its fall glory. This is a church spire in Bennington, VT. The fall color had not peaked in the valleys, but the higher mountains had some. We drove to the top of Equinox Mountain on a mostly cloudy day. We were just underneath the clouds:
We had more luck with the leaves and the sunshine in New Hampshire, but I'll save that for the next post. Instead, I'll offer up something that Vermont surprised us with:
Hot air balloons! The Quechee area is apparently the hot air balloon capital of Vermont. The lower one in the picture ended up wedging itself the entire way into the valley - the tops of the trees were covering the balloon. I think it would be really neat to get a ride in one of these puppies!
